No plan to hike fuel price, say Kachikwu, NNPC GMD

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, on Monday denied plans to increase the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as petrol.

They spoke separately with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The meeting followed the reports that a meeting of former GMDs of NNPC had recommended increase in fuel price, claiming that the current price is no longer sustainable.

Baru, who was the first to emerge from the meeting, was pressed by correspondents for comments but he declined and referred journalists to the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

Asked if there will be a review of the price, the NNPC GMD dismissed the journalists, saying: “There is nothing like that.”

But Kachikwu who came out about 15 minutes later directed journalists to speak with Baru on the matter.

When told that Baru had declined comments on the matter, Kachikwu said there was no memo before the Federal Government asking for a review of the fuel price.